Nessuna’s mountains are a bleak and harsh landscape on which it is difficult to eek out a life. All the creatures found in these mountains live very transient lives and are generally selfish about resources and tend towards being savage in nature. Some can be persuaded to trade with any hunters who may travel to the mountains in search of rare game or precious stones and minerals but mostly they will choose only to deal with The Young Gods who come to them. The creatures of Nessuna are probably the most keenly intelligent of all in Terra Dimentica and they are certainly the most cunning. This is why they are the ones usually sought out by the young Gods when on quests for The Old Gods.

Volo Duro- The strongest residents of the mountains they are often seen carrying loads which weigh as much as themselves. They are very proud creatures and rarely deal with anything unless it is a Young God or they personally will gain greatly from a situation. They prefer to remain in the very highest peaks in Nessuna. Secluding themselves away from almost all others and rarely interacting with other creatures so long as they can avoid it. Their name comes from the words ‘hard’ and ‘flight’ as they push themselves far harder than other creatures and force themselves towards greater endurance.

Volo Morbido- Like their sister species they are somewhat reclusive but they are also much more gentle and tend to be more open towards interacting and trading with those who visit the mountains. They have a fondness for shiny objects regardless of their value and like to decorate their caves with anything they acquire males of the species will often try to woo females by placing many shiny objects around the entrances to their caves to attract their attention so that they may begin courting them. They are quite vain creatures and tend towards high maintenance grooming and hygiene and will frequently venture down to the base of the mountains in order to bathe in the Vecchio Fiume (The Old River) which runs between the mountains and the swamplands of Nebbia. Their name mean ‘Soft flight’ as they prefer a much more easy going lifestyle than the Volo Duro.

Selvaggio-Tic- The last of the Tic species found on Nebbia they are extremely territorial and act hostilely towards any creature who enters it. Their preferred method for beating an opponent is to fluff as many of their long quilled sharp feathers up as possible in order to distract with the bright colours and then fly at the eyes and claw at the vulnerable surface with the paws. They have been known to attack and frequently wound any Volo who accidentally pass too close to one of their nests and are the most avoided species of Tic. Sometimes hunters who wish to prove their greatness amongst the Volo and other species will capture a Selvaggio-Tic and have it caged and try to tame it in order to show their strength of will. Selvaggio from the word ‘savage’ as it is the best word to describe the small creatures natures.

For my Design Discourse 2 Module I have been asked to write an article looking into an area of animation which was studied in this term. I have chosen to write an article examining the archetype of the heroine in animation and how the traits of the heroine have developed and changed to appeal to a gender politicized audience in mainstream animation of the 21st Century.

In order to write the best possible analysis of the heroine I need to put socio-political context in place. The timeline of women’s roles in society has been characterised by the subjugation of women and the articulation of feminist demands for equal access and opportunity to the workplace. Starting from the emancipation of women in terms of the vote (Emmeline Pankhurst etc), through the displacement of working women in the post-war period, to “The Female Eunuch” (Germaine Greer), the struggle has been reflected in reactionary politics set in a patriarchal context. Male supremacism was maintained through the status quo, but as feminism and feminist politics began to make an impact in society, the path towards equality, opportunity and social recognition was slowly forged in.

The contrast between societies where women are chattels and the property of men and more developed societies was not as evident of dramatic as it is today. Less than a century ago women were defined as being best, “barefoot, pregnant and down on the farm.” Though this attitude can still be found among some, it is no longer respectable to articulate it. However the struggle for women’s rights is far from won.

It is in this context that we must view the development of the modern animated heroine. She is still waging a war for recognition, equality and access in a traditionally male dominated world.

Palude is a very flat landscape so when looking accross it from Nebbia you can see the mountains of Nessuna. Many streams cross Palude From the Vecchio Fiume and the Dolce Fiume, which are the two rivers on its borders. Most of Palude is covered in swamp land or large placid lakes. It is a difficult environment to find shelter in and even harder to find land to settle on. Some creatures have adapted to this and live as nomads while others use this lack of shelter to their advantage in order to hunt.

Cappana’s are one of the creatures which use the lack of shelter to their advantage. They have large hollow chests which can be opened and entered and while the aggressive males of the species use this as a way of luring in the unwary in order to devour them, the more nurturing and peaceful females of the species tend to be caught and domesticated. They are used as shelter by many of the larger more sentient species on Palude but the females tend to either graze the march weeds for small creatures or eat any Schianto-Tics (A sub-species of the Sussuro-Tic) unwise enough to settle on their bodies or venture inside them looking for shelter.

Cappana- Their name comes from the word ‘hut’ as this is what their bodies usually resemble but this appearance has been known to change, with more exotic looking cappana females having mottled skin which resembles bricks or stone.

There are two dominant species which reside on Palude. The co-habit fairly peacefully but have been known to fight each other over food and land though they have never sought confrontation between themselves.

Peloso- These creatures are quiet and tend to use boats to move through the swamps and rivers. They are squat but exhibit a strength which far exceeds their size, this strength when paired with their aggressive nature makes them formidable in a fight. Their name means hairy as they are the only creature on Palude to have fur on their bodies instead of moist skin or scales. They use their tails to hunt in the water trailing the tufted hairs on the tips along the surface in order to draw up any aquatic creatures which may be eaten.

Pescatore- These creatures are far more peaceful than their neighbors and tend to exhibit a more delicate manner despite heir impressive size. They use their long legs and wide splayed hooves to navigate the shallower swamplands and then choose to swim across anything deeper. Their thin, moist skin and long lean muscles with wide splayed hands make them ideally suited towards amphibious life. Their incredible skill in the water makes then excellent predators.

Schianto-Tic- This is a sub-species of the Sussuro-Tic. They have iridescent feathers and a streamlined body ending in a wide flat tail which gives them better maneuverability in their aquatic environment.

Sussuro-Tics are most active at dusk and dawn. The hunt for small insects in the mists at this time of day and favor the higher tree tops where they can most easily avoid any Segombra.

The wooden homes of the Seguace are fairly open as they tend to move around a lot when they are on their own. If they begin to form groups more solid homes are built and they begin to hollow out tree’s so that they may live inside of them.

As Nebbia is found on Isola Di Sogni it is inhabited by creatures who would fit in with either dreams or nightmares. Isola Di Sogni is the part of Terra Dimentica which receives the most visitors from other realms who usually fall onto it’s shores through their dreams. Those who enter Terra Dimentica but do not truly belong to it are called Spettri. They are sleepers who have become lost between the Realm of Dreams and the Land of Death. Spettri are not aware of their crossing into a different world. This is because one of the species of creature which inhabit Isola Di Sogni and resides in Nebbia ensure the continuation of their dream state.

These creatures are the Seguace. A race of beings who will find and follow and Spettri and weave dreams into their minds. They choose to do this as they feed of the emotions created by the dreams. These are one of the few creatures who build dwellings for themselves in all of Terra Dimentica. Choosing to live in raised homes they build onto and into trees. This is because they wish to have an elevated view of their territory so that they may spot any Spettri who enter it.

Seguace- Their name means follower as they will follow any Spettri they find.

One of the few true predators to be found in Nebbia is the Segombra. Creature which surrounds it’s true body with shadows attempting to create the illusion of something sweet and approachable so that it may devour what ever may venture too close.

Segombra- A combination of the words Segugio and Ombra so it’s name is a combination of hound and shadow.

The Sussuro-Tics are the main prey of the segombra. They are naive little flying creatures which many young Seguace capture and tame in order to be kept as pets though many of the fully grown Seguace consider them a nuisance as the Sussuro-Tics frequently break into their homes in large numbers in order to find shelter. There are huge swarms of Sussuro-Tics found through out Nebbia and there are many variations of their species found all over Terra Dimentica.

Sussuro-Tics- Sussuro, meaning whisper, is a reference to the sound they make when flying. As wind moves through the long trailing feathers which make up their wing and tail plumage it creates the illusion of whispering voices. This is also a defense mechanism as when they fly fast enough the whisper can become a drawn out scream which can alarm their main pradators, the Segombra.